Ukraine declares state of emergency as Russia puts final touches on ‘war’

The threat of a Russian war is now becoming a grim reality in Ukraine, as the Kremlin increases its aggression with its neighbour

Russian-backed rebels say tens of thousands of people have left Donetsk and Luhansk to cross into southern Russia, as the threat of a war becomes a grim reality.

Families making the journey spoke to media in Ukraine about their experiences, with some saying they had not received the food and accommodation they had been promised by officials.

Ukrainian Government websites struck by cyber attack

Key Ukrainian government websites have been hit by what seems to be a cyber attack, with sits down early Thursday local time.

It follows a day in which Ukrainian agencies dealt with multiple cyberattacks and as concerns mounted over Russian troop movement into Ukraine’s separatist regions.  

The websites of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, as well as those of the ministries of foreign affairs, infrastructure, education and others, were hit with mass outages.

According to reports, a separate and potentially more serious hacking incident hours earlier, a data-wiping tool was found on hundreds of computers in Ukraine, according to cybersecurity researchers, raising concerns that a destructive cyberattack was unfolding amid Russia’s military escalation.

Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia airports in Ukraine closed until Thursday morning

Airports at Dnipro, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine are closed to traffic until Thursday morning, according to notices to airmen issued by local authorities.

No reason was provided for the closures, which are due to end between 05:00 and 06:35 GMT, depending on the airport.

Russia shuts east Ukraine airspace – monitoring group

Russia has now issued a civil aviation notice, warning that it is closing virtually all of eastern Ukrainian airspace on the border with Russia, a monitoring group says.

The Open Source Intelligence Monitor says no “limit or ending time” has been provided so far by Moscow in its Notice to Airmen, known as Notam.

Antony Blinken’s cancels meeting with Russia’s Lavrov, warns of major threat

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told NBC News: “Unfortunately, Russia has positioned its forces at the final point of readiness across Ukraine’s borders to the north, to the east, to the south. Everything seems to be in place for Russia to engage in a major aggression against Ukraine.”

America’s top diplomat also denied Washington was out of options to deter Russia. “I think [there’s] still an opportunity to avert a major aggression, although again, they’re in their final stages of being able to engage in one.

“We said very clearly that if Russia continues to escalate, so will we. And so they have to factor that in to what they’re thinking.

“At the end of the day, if that doesn’t stop President Putin, we’ve made very clear along with all of our allies and partners that there will be massive consequences going forward, a price that Russia will have to pay for a long, long time,” Blinken added.